Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) Short Interest Update

Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 321,700 shares, an increase of 21.1% from the February 28th total of 265,700 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 170,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Institutional Trading of Grand Canyon Education

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Grand Canyon Education during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Grand Canyon Education during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Grand Canyon Education in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Grand Canyon Education in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Institutional investors own 94.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LOPE shares. Barrington Research lifted their price target on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Grand Canyon Education from $181.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Grand Canyon Education from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Grand Canyon Education Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of LOPE opened at $180.77 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $176.12 and a 200-day moving average of $161.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.78. Grand Canyon Education has a twelve month low of $126.17 and a twelve month high of $192.18.

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.02. Grand Canyon Education had a net margin of 21.90% and a return on equity of 30.67%. The firm had revenue of $292.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.62 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Grand Canyon Education will post 8.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Grand Canyon Education Company Profile

Grand Canyon Education, Inc provides education services to colleges and universities in the United States. It offers technology services, including learning management system, internal administration, infrastructure, and support services; academic services, such as program and curriculum, faculty and related training and development, class scheduling, and skills and simulation lab sites; and counseling services and support services comprising admission, financial aid, and field experience and other counseling services.